Harris + Hoole opens first airport site

Tesco backed coffee shop, Harris + Hoole is to open in its first airport location at Stansted Airport.

The opening is part of the airport’s second phase of an £80m development of its departure lounge- and will take the business’ total shop numbers to 46 since it started in 2012.

This comes as speculation builds around the future of the coffee shop in Tesco stores, after the supermarket boss in charge of in-store restaurants and coffee shops, such as Harris + Hoole, left the business as part of its restructuring plans.

Nick Tolley, Harris+Hoole’s chief executive said: “We beat over 70 tenders to win a unit in Stansted’s redeveloped departure lounge, so this launch is a real coup for us. Our focus at the moment is making our Stansted store a success.

“Airports are new to us, so it will require real team work, but I’m confident we’ve got the best people on the job. As for opening more stores in travel hubs and airports, the opportunity has to be right, but it’s certainly not something we’re ruling out.”

The shop will cater for eat-in and food-to-go needs, and it has launched an app that enables customers to check-in to the store and pre-order to appeal to time-pressured customers.